Lamar Op-Ed

Liberty's Source

God put within each of us a desire for liberty and freedom, the desire for self-determination and to live in accordance with one's conscience. This is so strong that many would rather die than live under tyranny, and this was the basis for the Revolutionary War through which we gained our freedom from England in the late 18th Century.

Liberty had been denied most of mankind up until this time. Power passed from one monarch to another who ruled without regard for the interest of the people under his rule. The only people who experienced true liberty for the first 5000 years of earth's history were the rulers, or anyone living beyond the reach of the monarchies.

Then in the late 1700's, two revolutions began to change the way government had been administered for years. They both sought to do away with kings and monarchies as they had known them. The revolution in America sought a new order of governance based upon the biblical principles of freedom as they understood them. The revolution in France sought freedom by forsaking anything of a religious nature, outlawing churches, the Bible, and Christianity for a time, being answerable to no higher power than human reason.

The first gave birth to a nation of truly free people and liberty for all of her citizens. The other resulted in tyranny of a different sort, and gave birth to communism, socialism, and atheistic humanism.

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Like the monarchies the revolutionaries of France sought to replace, they devised a new but strong centralized government ruled by a few, and absolute power corrupts absolutely regardless of the form it takes. Why was the American experiment so successful in bringing liberty to its people?

Because the founders believed that the true principles of liberty were found in the bible, and that the unalienable rights they sought came from God alone. God is the only true source of liberty. Jesus said in the beginning of His ministry; "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;" -- Luke 4:18, NKJV

And in the Psalms it says; "And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts." -Psalms 119:44, NKJV God is the original author of all true liberty. This is why He gave Adam and Eve a choice regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was no electric fence around that tree. And in spite of the potential consequences He still gives everyone that free choice today. A truly Christian nation will never force anyone to become Christians as long as their leaders are truly following the Biblical principles of freedom.

This is clearly a Christian nation, under God, as the Supreme Court said in 1892; "(T)his is a Christian nation. We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth." -- U.S. Supreme Court, Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, Feb. 29, 1892 And law professor John Welch says;...the roots of the legal system in the United States are so deeply intertwined with biblical law. -Professor John W. Welch, "Biblical Law in America", p. 610-611.

This American experiment we embarked upon many years ago is what we celebrate next week. And what has this experiment proven? That the Bible is right! Our country stands as a testimonial that the Bible can be trusted as the only true and reliable guide of one's life. Its principles have granted our citizens unprecedented freedom and prosperity, whereas the principles of man without God as seen in Marxism lead only to oppression and tyranny.

This also proves that God is the true source of all freedom, and only He can give us liberty. Our fellow man cannot give us liberty, for it is not theirs to give, and it is simply their duty to respect the God given liberty of others. This is why socialism fails to give liberty as it leaves God out of the picture, even denying His existence.

So as you celebrate the 4th next week, remember to thank God for the freedom you are celebrating.

Dale Fuhrmeister is the pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Lamar, Springfield, and Swink, Colorado.

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